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Thursday, January 17, 2013

The little single engine plane stops three times, picking up or
dropping off a few people, on the way to the Lake Manyara airstrip in
Tanzania.The runway is a very
bumpy dirt strip right on the edge of the “escarpment”- aka “steep cliff”.We overhear a pilot telling a passenger
waiting for another flight “if the plane doesn’t take off by the end of the
runway, it will be airborne - at least for a little bit... “.We will be taking off from here in a few
days.

Lake Manyara National Park is in the midst of the East African
Rift.The park is home to lovely
and varied trees and shrubbery.While worth a one-day drive through, this will be our home for two
nights.Our camp tonight is
deep in the park.Actually it is a
one-hour drive into the park.We
are in the bush again in “luxury” tents.And even though billed as lakeside, we cannot see any
water or lake from our campsite.

The people at this camp are all incredibly nice and helpful and
want so much to make our stay enjoyable.All of the personnel are either Masai or natives from local
villages.Everyone in Tanzania is
so darned pleasant and friendly.I
feel so horrible even thinking these thoughts about the rustic nature of these
camps.I must say the safari
showers do work well.You
just let them know about what time you want to take a shower and they bring the
20 liters or so of hot water, pour it in the water bag, hoist it up above the
shower head and you have at least 2 to 3 minutes of hot water.

We see lots of monkeys, baboons, elephants, giraffes, impalas,
flamingos, Acacia trees, and sisal trees.Dinner tonight is superb.There are 13 in camp tonight and we dine of course al fresco
by candle and lantern light.And the chef prepares it all in a bush oven or on a gas grill in a
little tent.We start with a
delicious vegetable soup, followed by a perfectly done beef filet with rice,
which is beautifully presented, and end with an apple crisp with cream for
dessert.The bread, which is
freshly baked each morning and evening, is amazing.

I must mention again how friendly and personable and lovely are
the people here in our camp.

Conundrum #3:The
Masai are an interesting people.Their traditional diet is chiefly meat, milk and cow’s blood.They will bleed the cow for the blood
and then staunch the wound with cow dung.Cattle herds are most important to the Masai.Lions, leopards and other big game are a threat to these
herds and so they are often at cross hairs with animal conservationists.But the cow herds are the Masai’s
livelihood.

Monday, January 7, 2013

Kenya is on the equator but it has been chilly and rainy so
far.Very strange.We head out for our game drive early
this morning and the rain stops but the roads are quite muddy.We see a leopard whose meal is
stolen by hyenas, many elephants and baby ones too (so cute), crocodiles
feeding on a baby hippo (too sad), and lots of rainbows.Our guide is quite a good driver but on
the way back to camp we get stuck!The nearby heard of elephants don’t seem to mind us in their space and a
nearby hippo continues going the other way to the river.Our guide takes off his boots and wades
in the knee-high mud to try to free us but to no avail.Another truck comes and we
transfer and return to camp where the resident warthog family joins us for a
superb breakfast.

Conundrum #2:Driving off “road” in the Masai Mara has allowed us to see so many
animals up close in their natural habitat but with the proliferation of camps
and tourists and jeeps, is this negatively affecting the habitat and therefore the well-being of the animals?Or does the resulting increased tourism and income provide improved animal conservation efforts?

Saturday, January 5, 2013

The variety and numbers of animals in this, the Kenyan portion
of the northern Serengeti, is truly astounding.And unlike the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, which we
will visit later in our trip, the Land Rovers can drive off road to get up
front and personal with all the animals.

Little Governor’s Camp is our home for these three nights.Wart hogs, hippos and buffalo populate
the watering hole right in front of our tent and at night, we can hear
elephants and hippos close by - they roam through the camp at night.Armed guards patrol during the day and
the night, making sure not to disturb the animals but making sure they know where they are so
they can detour guests.We are not
allowed to wander freely after dark and during the day must stay within a very
limited area.

We find this “luxury” tent camp a bit too rustic for us.We are staying essentially in a tent,
albeit with a bed and a connected en suite bathroom with flush toilets and a
regular shower.The food is
marginal.I believe we have had
the same soup four times, always named something different on the menu (celery
and apple puree, cream of cucumber, cream of zucchini, vegetable), but I am pretty sure it's the same
soup each time. Appetizers in the lodge tent before
dinner are similar to what kids might fix as their first cooking attempt.

This review sounds a bit tough.But prices for all of our accommodations on this trip are way up there. And we have had
the experience, three years ago, of staying in three camps/lodges in Botswana
and South Africa that put Little Governor’s Camp to shame.I will mention them now as I am longing
for them...Duma Tau Camp in the
Linyanti Reserve in Botswana, the even more impressive Vumbura Plains Camp in
the Okavango Delta, Botswana, and the highlight of our last trip: Singita Boulders
Lodge in the Sabi-Sands Game Reserve in South Africa.

And so this presents the first of many conundrums of our trip. How can we complain about the quality of the food and the level of luxury in this, one of the poorest countries in the world?

Sunday, November 11, 2012

If you really, really, really! concentrate and get to your
inner self and use your imagination you might feel a bit of the funky, laid
back, American writers in Paris in the 20’s feel if you skirt the masses, stick
to the back streets, avoid weekends and high season, and tour Ernest Hemingway’s house.And it is quite
pleasant to eat in one of the many open-air Caribbean style bar-like
restaurants.And I suppose the
hordes and busloads of tourists carousing and shopping and eating their way ala
Las Vegas and New Orleans is just an evolutionary jump but one that I wish
hadn’t been made.I will try
to find movies filmed in Key West during a more “traditional” time period and
just pretend.(The Rose
Tattoo, Beneath the 12 Mile Reef, License to Kill, PT 109, perhaps will take me back.)

However, if you go:Like New Orleans and Austin, Texas, I have a feeling there are some real
gems to be found if one concentrates on music and investigates and checks out
the various bars and restaurants with live bands and performers.And as I’ve mentioned, Hemingway’s
house is fascinating and the tour is a must do.There are 40 cats in residence and many are descendants of
the original six-toed (or polydactyl) cat named Snowball, which was given to
Hemingway by a ship captain.Apparently six toed cats were considered good luck on ships. These cats
roam the property and seem to own the place.

Friday, November 9, 2012

I highly recommend the tours at Monticello.On our recent visit the guide was
fabulous – engaging and poignant and obviously a scholar and admirer of Thomas Jefferson.We were almost crying at the end of the
tour.The tour guides do an
excellent job of presenting the environment in which Jefferson and other
southern landowners lived and the contradictions and nuances of the institution
of slavery in the south.

The countryside around Monticello is lovely especially in
this fall season and there are so many interesting stops in close
proximity.After visiting
Monticello, we continued on down the road a few miles on Route 53 to Jefferson
Vineyards for a short picnic, then on a few miles more to Ash Lawn, President James
Monroe’s home (he used to visit Jefferson by horseback), and then just a few
miles further to Trump Winery to see what the new Trump owners have done to
the beautiful former John Kluge Estate.The wine is not very good (our opinion only…) but the setting and the
tasting area is lovely.We did not
get a chance to visit Dave Matthews' (yes the singer) vineyard - Bleinheim Vineyard - right around
the corner.Next time.

For dinner - Hamiltons' on the Mall in downtown
Charlottesville is excellent. The menu changes often to take advantage of fresh
and seasonal ingredients.My
blue-plate vegetarian plate was perfect.(I feel that any restaurant that can do a tasty and elegant vegetarian
entrée definitely has a leg up on competitors.)The crab cakes with pickled okra and crispy bell pepper
polenta was memorable.And
Charlottesville’s downtown pedestrian mall is quaint, charming, lively and fun
with cute boutiques and shops.

Sunday, September 30, 2012

You know the feeling: you are coming home from the airport after a long trip and flight, there is not much in the refrigerator and you are not looking forward to a grocery run. But you at least need milk for tomorrow morning's coffee. And if you are like me, you just can't get too excited about a bowl of cereal for dinner. Even though really, tomorrow will be another day and a better meal. Just one evening without something tasty should be ok? No No. Not to be. Can't do it.

This time, coming home by myself to an empty house, I do walk to the store to get milk and while there, pick up some romaine hearts. I know I have cans of tuna, pasta and capers always in the pantry and fresh lemons always in the refrigerator or freezer, so I plan on a quick pasta with tuna for dinner.

A quick Ceasar salad on the side and everything is right again and I feel at home. I can wait til tomorrow for that major grocery trip.

While cooking the pasta, heat the olive oil in a small skillet, add the garlic and let simmer in the oil for a minute or two. Don't brown. Add the capers, tuna and heat through. Fold in pasta and top with pepper to taste, parsley and a squeeze of lemon.

Quick Ceasar Salad(Serves one)

Wash the romaine hearts, dry, then keep in refrigerator to chill until you are ready to eat.

Sunday, September 2, 2012

A charcuterie platter like the one at Spruce that I highlighted in my last blog entry is an inviting casual dinner party appetizer but an even simpler one that I often put together is a prosciutto platter. Simply cover an attractive platter with thin slices of prosciutto and accompany with a bowl of cornichons, a slab of butter, a trio of varied salts, and a basket of fresh bread slices. (Either an Italian or, surprisingly, a good rye bread are both great with the prosciutto).

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Spruce is known for their charcuterie and so we of course
start with an assortment to share as an appetizer.(I will start recreating this platter for dinners at
home all the time.It’s easy to assemble at the
last minute and the presentation is lovely.) Spruce includes about 5 varieties
of sliced hams and beef (including bresaola, prosciutto, and beef tongue), a
small pot of pâté, sliced cornichons, a small lettuce salad garnish, and a
delicious fruit preserve.

We splurge on an order of the California Osetra
Caviar.I didn’t know there was
caviar from California.We
are certainly not every day aficionados but we are impressed with the
taste and try to restrain ourselves so as to make sure we all get about the
same amount.The brioche toast
accompaniment (along with the traditional blinis) is devine and I now want to
have brioche toast every morning, with the crust cut off.

The service - a bit too attentive.There seem to be two wine sommeliers and while our waiter is
lovely, we keep getting interrupted while we are eating or talking to make sure
“everything is ok?”.But not a
biggie – we feel very cared for.And at least our waiter doesn’t tell us his name and so fortunately we
don’t have to slash his tip.I
love my white corn soup with huitlacoche and coriander cereal. The main courses are quite good –
especially the brioche crusted halibut.(Again that amazing brioche.)This is a very pricey evening out.On first reflection I think I would
like to save my fine dining dollars for the top of the line
establishments.On second
reflection, the total cost is not bad given that we splurge on caviar and enjoy
some lovely wine.

(Huitlacoche - sounds so lovely. It was delicious in the corn soup but now I know what it is and I am not sure I can eat it again. Knowledge is often not a good thing. Don't check out these links if you would rather just enjoy the taste next time you have an opportunity.....Spoiler Alert!!)

Sunday, August 19, 2012

I must say the best part of our trip was getting there. On the recent 2-hour drive from
Hilton Head our family took turns
suggesting songs we wanted to hear.My son played each of our choices from Spotify(through his IPhone) and we had hilarious and poignant
moments critiquing, complaining about or enjoying each other’s song choices.Most memorable song – Empire State of Mind by Jay-Z.I personally love
this song but can't understand all the words. So our son googled the lyrics
and gave us an engaging reading of this very intriguing rap song.

Kudu Coffeeshop

One of many cute boutiques

Fleet Landing

Everyone is so darned nice and welcoming in Charleston.We loved driving by the beautiful
mansions in the Battery, visiting Charleston’s historic City Hall
and its beautiful art and hearing from the very knowledgeable docent the story
surrounding John Trumbull’s portrait of George Washington (I can’t ruin the
story in case you go…), lunch on the waterfront at Fleet Landing (great food – don’t let the
industrial looking location put you off), coffee at Kudu's, and shopping the cute boutiques on King Street.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Albemarle County, Virginia has become
quite the grape growing area - which would so please Mr. Jefferson as he is
considered by many to be “the greatest patron of wine and wine growing that
this country has yet had”. You
won’t find the breadth of good wines we do in California but there are notable
standouts and the area’s wineries have been winning more and more awards in
national competitions. Think a history and wine trip to the area - sounds pretty perfect.

Over half of Virginia's vineyard acres are within the MVA - Monticello Viticultural Area - and most of the wineries in the MVA are within an easy drive from Charlottesville and only a two hour drive from Washington D.C. The Monticello Wine Trailwebsite has great information on visiting wineries in the area and beautiful pictures to pique one's interest.

Thomas Jefferson did many things so very well. He was a true renaissance man. His beloved home, Monticello, and his university, the University of Virginia, are both listed on Unesco's World Heritage List. I am confident one day Virginia will make him even more proud and become a prime destination for wine lovers throughout the world.

Zinc

Zinc Open Kitchen

But one must eat when touring and drinking wine. There are some great restaurants in Charlottesville as one would expect from this horse country, university town, wine mecca, and world famous history center.... On this most recent visit we try Zinc. We love it. The setting is a former gas station with the former service bays providing funky decor and windows. The wines and cocktails and glassware are enticing. I love the charcuterie plate, the seasonal cold soup, the mussels, the duck. Local ingredients and fresh local produce are in abundance. It is quite obvious that the chef and staff are professionals and care deeply about their restaurant and I can tell this will be a repeat restaurant for us when we are in town.